‘Babri demolition planned 10 months in advance’

Press Trust of India
Posted online: Sunday, January 30, 2005

New Delhi, January 31: In a claim that tears apart the stand of Sangh Parivar, a book authored by a former top Intelligence Bureau (IB) official says that Babri Masjid demolition was planned 10 months in advance by top leaders of RSS, BJP and VHP and raises questions over the way the then Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao, had handled the issue.

It also blames certain close aides of former Prime Minister Late Rajiv Gandhi, for his Government’s failures on various fronts, including in Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir, while detailing how Rashtrapati Bhavan was bugged by the PMO when Giani Zail Singh occupied it and how Rajiv paid money to ensure the electoral defeat of his Home Minister Buta Singh.

A compilation of several sensational claims by former IB Joint Director Maloy Krishna Dhar, in his book ‘Open Secrets-India’s Intelligence Unveiled’ alleges that the Mandal agitation of 1990 was “inspired, guided and funded” by the Congress under Rajiv Gandhi to topple the Government of V P Singh.

Touching on Babri Masjid demolition, the author writes “Around February 1992, soon after the flop ‘Ekta Yatra’ of Murli Manohar Joshi, I was directed to arrange technical coverage of a key meeting of the BJP/Sangh Parivar. The meeting was to be attended by Lal Krishna Advani, M M Joshi, Rajju Bhaiya (then RSS chief), K S Sudarshan, Vijaya Raje Scindia, H S Sheshadri, Vinay Katiyar, Uma Bharati and Champat Rai etc,” the author says.

Unfazed by questions whether he was worried that the book may cause problems because he was disclosing confidential matters, Dhar told PTI “I have written it after a lot of thinking and consideration.”

About possible court cases against him, he said “let’s see. Now I have written it. But I don’t apprehend any legal problems.”

The “audio and videotape” contents of the meeting “proved beyond doubt that the high priests of hatred had helped the Sangh Parivar to adopt a strident Hindutva programme soon after the assassination of Indira Gandhi.

“The Rajiv interlude had sent them to political oblivion but the lessons learnt during the JP movement and anti-Rajiv campaign had convinced the Parivar leaders that the right moment of history had arrived for the Hindu forces to make a determined bid for political power,” he writes in the book.

The book says that the February meeting “proved beyond doubt that they (RSS, BJP, VHP) had drawn up the blueprint of the Hindutva assault in the coming months and choreographed the ‘pralaya nritya’ (dance of destruction) at Ayodhya in December 1992.”

“The RSS, BJP, VHP and the Bajrang Dal leaders present in the meeting amply agreed to work in a well-orchestrated manner,” the sleuth says.

RSS, BJP and VHP have been maintaining that the demolition was a result of impromptu action by some angry kar sevaks and that the top leadership had tried to stop them.

Pointing out that the tapes were personally handed by him to his boss, Dhar says “I have no doubt that he had shared the chilling contents with the Prime Minister (Rao) and the Home Minister (S B Chavan).”

“But the man at the helm of affairs of Indira Congress was an indecisive person. He had regained some jest for life and had started dreaming of short-circuiting the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty… He dithered. And L.K. Advani and his colleagues crossed the ramparts of history and generated passion that demolished an insignificant mosque…,” he remarks.

Referring to the the December 5,1992 meeting of RSS, VHP, BJP and Shiv Sena leaders, including Advani and M M Joshi, the author says “There was silent resoluteness and agreement that Ayodhya offered a unique opportunity to take the Hindutva wave to the peak for deriving political benefit. The iron was hot and this was the time to hit.”

Dhar, who outlines how he merged with the huge crowds of ‘kar sevaks’ pretending to be a journalist and got the proceedings shot on December 6,1992, says that vandalism was committed by activists of the Shiv Sena while Sangh Parivar leaders indulged in “irresponsible rhetoric”.

“L K Advani had spat fire from the pulpit but he failed to control the flames. Taped videos substantiated that he was progenitor of the tsunami effect that he failed to control at the vital moment of destiny,” says the sleuth claiming to have made a videotape and 70 still snaps.

“Much later, soon after the NDA Government assumed office in Delhi and the BJP top guns were summoned by the Liberhan Commission to depose before it, I was twice summoned by L.K. Advani,” Dhar reveals.

He says Advani wanted to know details of the videotape and “demanded that I should produce it as a piece of evidence.

“I simply did not have any copy of the tape with me. The only copy was consigned to the ‘archives’ of the IB, somewhere outside Delhi. I gave a verbal account of the event and requested him to obtain the tape from the Director IB.”

Dhar says he was unsure whether or not the Director IB “obliged” Advani. “The then Director had established a close rapport with certain officials of the PMO and I was told that he was advised by them to not produce the tape that could take Advani off the hook… Advani was still considered a powerful contender for the office of the Prime Minister.”

On the anti-Mandal agitation, the former IB official says that it was “far from a spontaneous response” against reservation for the backward castes.

“It was inspired, guided and funded by the Indira Congress and was handled by the Indira Congress trouble-shooters,” he says, claiming that a large amount of money was spent on the agitation which came from the “dark chambers of the Indira Congress Party.”

India court splits mosque site between religions

[Why would Indian courts create an Indian equivalent of Jerusalem's divided and constantly fought over Temple Mount, in Ayodhya?  Over 2,000 Muslims died in street battles after insane mobs of Hindu rioters tore the Babri Mosque to the ground in 1992.  How many more lives will this decision cost?  This decision, in the current political environment, is very dangerous, perhaps being the spark that will ignite religious war on the sub-continent between nuclear-armed combatants.]

Babri Mosque, before being torn down by Hindu rioters in 1992.

A model of a proposed Ram temple, which Hindus want to build on the site of the demolished Babri Mosque, is pictured in the northern Indian town of Ayodhya September 30, 2010.
Credit: REUTERS/Mukesh Gupta

A Hindu priest shouts slogans as he celebrates after hearing the first reports of a court ruling in the northern Indian town of Ayodhya September 30, 2010.
Credit: REUTERS/Mukesh Gupta

Sadhus or Hindu holymen hug each other to celebrate after hearing the first reports of a court ruling in the northern Indian town of Ayodhya September 30, 2010.
Credit: REUTERS/Mukesh Gupta

Hindu priests shout slogans as they celebrate after hearing the first reports of a court ruling in the northern Indian town of Ayodhya September 30, 2010.
Credit: REUTERS/Mukesh Gupta

By Alka Pande

LUCKNOW, India | Thu Sep 30, 2010 9:45am EDT

(Reuters) – An Indian court ruled on Thursday that the site of a demolished mosque would be split between Hindus and Muslims, dousing immediate fears of a violent backlash in one of the country’s most religiously divisive cases.

The Uttar Pradesh court also ruled Hindus will be allowed to keep a makeshift temple that was built over the demolished central mosque dome, sparking celebrations by priests who dipped in a nearby river chanting “The temple is now ours.”

The 1992 demolition of the 16th century mosque in northern India by Hindu mobs triggered some of India’s worst riots that killed about 2,000 people. More than 200,000 police fanned out in India on Thursday to guard against any communal violence.

If the ruling soothes tensions, it would be a boost for the ruling Congress party, a left-of-center group with secular roots, that does not want to upset either voter bloc. Major political parties had called for calm.

The verdict came only days before Sunday’s opening of theCommonwealth Games in New Delhi, with the government wanting to project an image of stability and modernity to the world.

“Nobody has won. Nobody has lost,” Yashwant Sinha, a leader of the Hindu nationalist Bharat Janata Party, told local television. “Let’s not look at this as a victory for anyone.”

Muslims did appear the biggest losers. But Muslim organizations were measured in their response, careful not to inflame public tensions in a country where they account for only 13 percent of the 1.2 billion plus population.

There were no immediate reports of violence after the ruling.

“It was a very sensible judgment and the court has tried to balance the parties,” said Anil Verma, a political analyst. “Apportioning one-third to the Muslims means they have not completely lost.”

Commentators said the verdict was unlikely to spark widespread riots that hit the financial capital Mumbai and other cities in 1992. There is little electoral headway to be made in egging on religious riots in post-economic reform India.

The 2-1 majority verdict gave two-thirds of the key parts of the disputed land to Hindus — one third each to two different Hindu groups — and one third to Muslims.

Hindu inhabitants of Ayodhya town — under a security lockdown for a week — lit candles and lamps outside their homes.

MUSLIM DISAPPOINTMENT

Many Muslim organizations expressed some disappointment but called for reconciliation, resting hopes in an appeal by Muslim lawyers to the Supreme Court in New Delhi.

“The judgment can begin a process of reconciliation,” Kamal Farooqi, a member of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board, said.

Malik sees global plot to destabilise Pakistan

[The Minister of Interior is absolutely right, it is time for a moment of  "Glasnost" in Pakistan, an opening-up or revealing to the Pakistani people and to the world just exactly what is really going on in Balochistan.  If the government of Pakistan is serious about clarifying the situation for its citizens, it will be taking the only possible defensive action against the unfolding international conspiracy.  If the smokescreen which hides the actions of the destabilizing intelligence agencies is not blown away, the perpetrators will continue to dismember Pakistan while hiding behind the smoke.  A lot of very powerful people are counting on Pakistan dying quietly; you cannot let that happen.  If the government comes clean and confronts the real killers, then it will find that the people are on their side.  Law and order will be less of a problem if people can count on the law to protect them, not harass and kill them.]

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Interior, Senator A. Rehman Malik talking to the media persons outside Parliament House. APP

ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Rehman Malik on Wednesday said in the Senate that Pakistan was being destabilized under a well-planned international conspiracy because it was an Islamic state and a nuclear power.

Winding up the debate on the law and order situation in the Senate, with particular reference to Karachi, the minister said foreign intelligence agencies trained the Pakistanis and used them for attacks in Pakistan and abroad to advance their agenda. “They also try to pit one sect against another in the country,” he said.

On the last day of discussion on the Karachi situation, the minister had to face strong criticism from the opposition senators, particularly from Professor Khurshid Ahmad and Sajid Mir, who said that the government itself was facilitating foreign hands as they referred to issuance of visas to nationals of a third country in Dubai.

During his speech, Rehman Malik also claimed that the law and order situation was improving with reduction in incidents of target killings in Karachi and Quetta.

He said a decision was taken to take action in six police stations of Quetta, which were no-go areas and as a result 103 proclaimed offenders, 97 target killers and 60 absconders were arrested and since then there had been no incident of target killing in Quetta city.

The minister offered that a fact-finding mission should be sent to determine whether the FC was in any way involved in the Panjgur incident. He said he was also ready for a judicial inquiry or inquiry within the Senate.

The interior minister said the poor law and order situation in Karachi was mainly because of political polarization and the government, including the president and the prime minister, were trying to resolve it. He said there were also other factors of unrest and violent incidents in the city like economic pressure, drug and land mafia.

Rehman Malik said he never talked about initiation of a Swat and Malakand-like operation in Balochistan. About the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, he said the province was a frontline region in the war on terror and suffered heavily both in terms of life and property. He, however, said the situation had improved as a consequence of the operations launched by the Army and law enforcing agencies and now life had returned to normal in the troubled areas.

The interior minister said the government was following the 3-D policy, which was working well. He said the government was pursuing the policy of reconciliation but it could not talk to those who trampled the Islamic teachings by indulging in acts of terrorism.

He said it was the duty of the government to protect life and property of citizens but it was the nation’s collective responsibility to sit together and formulate an effective strategy. He said he was ready to give an in-camera briefing to parliament so that the members might have an idea what actually was happening.

About issuance of visas to nationals of a third country in Dubai, the minister said the visas were issued within rules. “How the visas can be refused when there was nothing wrong with passports and applicants themselves,” he asked.

Professor Khurshid said that Pakistan government should find ways to come out of the war on terror as it had resulted in insecurity and deterioration of the law and order situation in the country. He regretted that incidents of target killings were continuing in Karachi despite assurances from the interior minister. “The government is not alive and sensitive to the law and order situation, particularly in Karachi and Balochistan,” the JI senator observed. He said culprits were receiving patronage from politicians.

Professor Khurshid said all was not good with the lower judiciary and the masses were not getting speedy justice from there. “The improvement in the working of the Supreme Court and high courts should also trickle down to the lower judiciary,” he said.

Senator Sajid Mir of the PML-N said the statements of rulers about improvement in the law and order situation and their assurances in this connection were baseless.

He said the government itself was facilitating enemies of the country and in this connection he referred to the issuance of visas to nationals of a third country in Dubai. “Such an attitude and presence of foreign agents in the country will deteriorate the law and order situation,” he said.

He observed that incidents of terrorism in the country could not be controlled till the time the US forces and Indians were present in Afghanistan.

Maulana Abdul Rasheed asked the interior minister to apprise the House of the actual reasons behind the acts of terrorism and target killings.

NNI adds: Rehman Malik said that violation of Pakistan’s territorial integrity by any country would not be allowed and Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani would raise the issue with the US.

Talking to the media outside the Parliament House, Rehman Malik said that Pakistan registered a protest with the US, Nato and Afghanistan over transgression of its territory. He said that an investigation was underway and a report in this regard would be made public soon.

Earlier, Malik told the National Assembly that Dr Aafia Siddiqui’s brother had appealed in US Supreme Court against his sister’s 86-year conviction. He said the US did not fulfill legalities of the case. He also asserted that the concerned lawyers did not defend the case as was expected from them.

Talking about his meeting with Dr Fauzia Siddiqui, the minister said Dr Aafia’s family was not seeking any assistance from the government. However, he confirmed the family was being provided all kinds of legal and monetary assistance.

100,000 Miles of Gas Lines Over Fifty Years Old

natural gas, pipelines are constructed of carbon steel

 

 

Hobsonian Choice for Delhi: Kashmir or UNSC seat?

Rupee News

The Obama “Kashmir trip” is being planned in Washington–and it sends shivers up the spine of Delhi analysts. Political Scientists around the world are analyzing every word spoken by President Obama.

This has not been a good month for India. The fiasco in Afghanistan, the debacle of the Delhi Games, the Ayodhya verdict and now the UN report disparaging. Not good news for Shining India. The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) is ready to publish a report describing the brutal human rights violations in Indian Occupied Kashmir. The strongly-worded report will diligently take an inventory of all the events that took place in the Indian Occupied Kashmir valley after June 11. The report will prolifically describe the atrocities committed by Indian security forces from June to September. The panicked Indian side is holding secret talks with the top UN hierarchy and will try to convince them not to publish the strongly worded report. “Hundreds of cases of murders, assaults, and torture on youth, women and children are going to be reported sometime any sooner”. The Chinese are pushing the UN to publish the report as soon as possible.

There is copious information available on the UN, Kashmir and Obama’s agenda for it. Most of the Obama policy is based on the writings and agenda of one Bruce Riedel who seems to have found the Alladin’s Lamp in resolving all problems of South Asia.

For the U.S., reducing and resolving the India-Pakistan Cold War before it goes hot is critical to stability in South Asia, isolating the jihadi extremists and preventing a war in South Asia that could go nuclear. Riedel

The Times of India places a lot of emphasis on Bruce Riedel because it suts the Delhi solutions. Bob Woodward’s book, “Obama’s Wars” also has excerpts that discusses Kashmir as central issue which would resolve Afghanistan.

Mr Riedel seems to think that he can impose his agenda on Pakistan and India and eliminate all the tensions in South Asia. Mr. Riedel’s solution to Kashmir goes something like this.

1) The LOC is made the permanent border between Pakistan and India.

2) The border between Azad Kashmir and Indian Occupied Kashmir is made a soft border.

3) The Legislature of Indian Occupied Kashmir and Azad Kashmir meet on a periodic basis to resolve arts and craft issues.

Mr. Riedel seems to think that this is a solution. Obvioulsy he is not aware of the ground realities in Kashmir or in Pakistan–or in India for that matter. The Kashmiri Intifada doesn’t want the status quo sprinkled with M&Ms called “Fake Azadi Made in USA”. The Kashmiris want a real solution–they want the withdrawal of Indiai troops and they want accession with Pakistan.

Despite the threats and drone bombings, the ground realities in Afghanistan spell defeat and humiliation. Naveeta Kapoor eloquently describes is as follows “The recent spate of Kinetic activities indicate growing restless of America in resolving Af Pak or should we say Pak Af.There is one consistent message emanating from the “surge” about the Afghanistan conflict: it will be won or lost in the corridors of Islamabad and not the ravines of Waziristan.”

Various analysts have described the situation in Afghanistan–from desperate to hopeless. “A Proliferation of sticks now”, says that until Islamabad decides to end the conflict on terms favorable to it in Afghanistan: the end is nowhere in sight.

The Indian obsession with trying to force itself to a party in Kabul doesn’t fit into the Obama Strategy for Afghanistan. Delhi knows that Islamabad holds the cards in Afghanistan and in a classic quid pro quo is holding the US to resolve Kashmir–per UN resolutions.

Obama is still drinking the Musharraf coolaid which says that “that neither Pakistan nor India would be better off if the United States walked out of Afghanistan”.  The Obama Administration seems to think that perpetual war in Afghanistan is somehow good for Pakistan and India. The fact is that in Delhi’s mind staying in Afghanistan is good for Delhi but not good for Islamabad. In a classic Zero-Sum mentality India seems to think that bleeding Pakistan is good for India. Pakistan faces the spillover from Afghanistan. Delhi faces the backlash from Kashmir and Afghanistan but is unable to recognize the blowback.

American’s seem to know which buttons make India tick. Mention “Superpower” and they will do whatever you want. Condaleeza Rice promised to anoint Bahrat as a Superpower and the Indian establishment went ga ga. The Obama Administration knows that a little bit of ego massage goes a long way in Delhi. He will hold a carrot for Delhi on his trip to Delhi. “Go for a Kashmir solution and help bring stability to the region for a ticket to UN Security Council membership and fulfilling your big power aspirations”.  Obama wants to impress on Delhi that what is good for India should also be good for Pakistan. Obama wants India to stop destabilizing Pakistan in Balochistan. In real terms it means an end to the Indian passport for Brahmandagh Bugti and a curtailment of the Indian “diplomatic staff” in Afghanistan.

Mr. Obama will hold the UNSC carrot for Delhi and a “resolution of Kashmir” reward for Pakistan.  A bad solution on Kashmir with neither mollify Islamabad nor assuage the Kashmiris. India is not convinced that a stable Pakistan is in its best interests. The Indian Military Industrial Complex is obsessed with Pakistan and a triumphalist media’s wet dream is the break up of Pakistan. The Kashmiri intifada has Delhi on its wits end. A Kashmir package was summarily rejected by the Pro-Pakistan Kashmir leadership which is running the show in Kashmir. The new generations of Kashmiris want no part of India and make no bones about loudly proclaiming that they are not Indian.

Obama is  obviously desperate and at this point in time pressurised by the looming deadline of the 2012 elections. Another major issue is the Pakistani elections in 2013 which are poised to either return Nawaz Sharif or a conglomeration of parties that may not be as compliant to the US as the current government.

India’s  Hobsons choice is as it has always been–resolving Kashmir, building peace in South Asia or  perpetual hostility with China and Pakistan. India has always been on the wrong side of history. It chose Kashmir over peace in 1948, and has been making the wrong choice ever since. A UNSC seat for India may make it pause. As always, it will take the seat, dilly-dally on a solution,  delay the talks on Kashmir.

Obama’s sales job would be to sell “Kashmir” as a win-win for India–else Delhi will think that it is “conceded irretrievable ground to Pakistan”. India will try to extract its pound of flesh by brining up “Terror” and other issues. However there is a danger to this line of argument because in actuality it strengthens the Obama argument which focuses on resolving Kashmir.

Master Plan against Crimes Prepared: Balochistan Police Chief

[SEE: Malik sees global plot to destabilise Pakistan]

The Baloch Hal News

QUETTA: Inspector General Balochistan Malik Muhammad Iqbal has unveiled that a master plan had been finalized to control crimes in the province.

According to a statement issued on Tuesday, he mentioned that a number of criminals had been busted who were involved in kidnapping for ransom.

He pledged that decision had been taken to take strict action against criminal networks involved in rising crimes particularly kidnapping for ransom.

He observed that steps were being taken to change police culture in order to bring citizens and police together.

He opined that alone police could not end crimes until masses extended collaboration to them. He said that plain clothes policemen had been deployed in sensitive areas of Quetta city besides increasing police patrolling on main arteries of the city.

Iran Announces Delay in Startup of Its Nuclear Reactor Following Cyber Attack

Iran Announces Delay in Startup of Its Nuclear Reactor Following Cyber Attack, But Denies Any Link

Iran’s nuclear chief said Wednesday that the “enemies” of Iran had failed in their attempts to harm Iran’s nuclear facilities through the use of a powerful new computer virus.

Thursday, September 30, 2010
By Patrick Goodenough

The Bushehr nuclear power plant (Photo: Atomic Energy Organization of Iran)

(CNSNews.com) – Iran’s Bushehr nuclear reactor will not generate power before early 2011, about two months later than previously reported, the country’s nuclear chief has announced.

Ali Akbar Salehi gave no reason for the delay, but said Wednesday that the “enemies” of Iran had failed in attempts to harm the nuclear facilities through the use of a powerful new computer virus, which targets software that controls infrastructure.

He said the virus, known as Stuxnet, had infected some staff laptop computers at the Bushehr plant but not its main computer system.

When the transfer of fuel to the Russian-built reactor took place in August, the nuclear agency said the plant would begin producing electricity within two or three months.

Iranian officials acknowledged earlier this week that Stuxnet had affected sites throughout Iran, but did not identify them. On Sunday, Bushehr project manager Mahmoud Jafari told Iranian media the plant’s computer system had not been damaged.

Reports about Stuxnet’s emergence sparked feverish industry and media speculation that the virus may have been designed, possibly by a foreign government, specifically to target Iran’s nuclear facilities.

Ralph Langner, a German computer security researcher, analyzed Stuxnet as a sophisticated and directed attack.

“This was assembled by a highly qualified team of experts, involving some with specific control system expertise,” he wrote earlier. “This is not some hacker sitting in the basement of his parents’ house. To me, it seems that the resources needed to stage this attack point to a nation state.”

“It’s like nothing we’ve seen before – both in what it does, and how it came to exist,” says computer security firm Symantec. “It is the first computer virus to be able to wreak havoc in the physical world. It is sophisticated, well-funded, and there are not many groups that could pull this kind of threat off.”

Some 60 percent of Stuxnet hits have been in Iran, but systems in other countries, including India and Indonesia, have also been affected. In fact, Symantec reported back in July that in the early days of the attack India and Indonesia were most heavily hit, with Iran coming in at third place, some way behind.

Still, the Iran theory has garnered significant attention.

Iranian IT and Communications Minister Reza Taghipour told the IRNA news agency Wednesday that Iran expected the U.S. and other “enemies” to try to target it with cyber warfare, but that Iranian systems were “impenetrable.”

Iran insists that all of its nuclear activity is peaceful, but the U.S. and allied governments suspect it is developing a nuclear weapons capability under the cover of the civilian program.

In a move designed to dispel concerns that Iran may try to separate plutonium, which could be used in a weapons program, Russia has undertaken to supply fuel for the reactor on condition that Iran ships the spent fuel back to Russia.

But despite the assertion by Western governments that this would remove the justification for enriching uranium at home, Iran says it will continue with enrichment as it plans to build another 20 nuclear power plants in the future.

Another concern about Bushehr is that the required “cooling” period before which the irradiated fuel can be returned to Russia could provide the Iranians with the time and opportunity to separate plutonium covertly, despite international supervision.

The standoff between the West and Iran over its nuclear programs has dragged on since 2003.

Last week, the five permanent U.N. Security Council members and Germany (P5+1) announced a new push to work towards a negotiated solution that “restores international confidence in the exclusively peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear program.”

Following a meeting in Washington with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Wednesday, the European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton urged Iran to return to the talks.

Tehran recently announced its readiness to resume talks, but said any negotiation must be conducted within the framework of an agreement brokered by Turkey and Brazil last May, under which Iran would send some of its low-enriched uranium abroad for processing.

The U.S. and other critics said the agreement did not resolve key unresolved questions about Iran’s intentions.

Austerity Cuts Forcing Anarchy Into Spanish Streets

General strike in Spain sparks travel chaos, clashes

A demonstrator prepares to throw a stone into a store in central Barcelona

MADRID – Pickets clashed with police, airlines cancelled flights and commuters battled transport chaos Wednesday as Spanish unions staged a general strike against tough labour reforms and spending cuts.

Tens of thousands also took to the streets in major cities in evening protests over the government measures, aimed at slashing unemployment which has soared to more than 20 percent and reviving the battered economy.

“This clamour, this expression of democracy, of freedom… cannot pass unnoticed by the government, which must react,” the head of the CCOO union, Ignacio Fernandez Toxo, said at the march in the capital.

But the government downplayed the impact of the stoppage, Spain’s first general strike since 2002.

“The strike has had an uneven following and a limited effect,” Labour Minister Celestino Corbacho told a news conference.

The government has vowed there will be no reversal of the labour reforms, which cut Spain’s high cost of firing workers and gives companies more flexibility to reduce working hours and staff levels in economic downturns.

The reforms, which were backed by the International Monetary Fund, received final approval from parliament on September 9.

Unions are also fighting steep spending cuts, including an average state employee salary reduction of five percent, and plans to gradually raise the retirement age to 67 from 65.

The strike comes as financial markets are on the lookout for signs of a popular backlash that could derail the government’s reform plans, seen as key for reviving the economy and fending off a Greek-style debt crisis.

Around 20 people were injured in scuffles involving pickets and police outside factories around the country, and more than 60 people were arrested, Spanish media said.

Three police officers were hurt in confrontations with pickets outside a factory of the European aerospace group EADS in the Madrid suburb of Getafe, the government said.

In Madrid, frustrated commuters walked to and from work or waited at bus stops or at metro stations, rubbish was left uncollected and thousands of union leaflets urging workers to stay at home littered the streets.

In Barcelona, Spain’s second largest city, the city’s taxi drivers’ union said that 90 percent of its members observed the stoppage, but reported some clashes between pickets and non-striking drivers at the airport.

Unions hailed the strike as a success.

“I think that there will be few people who doubt the reach of the strike,” Toxo told a news conference.

Hundreds of thousands of people, many waving red and white union flags, took part in about 100 street demonstrations across the country. The largest were staged in Madrid and Barcelona.

One demonstrator in the Spanish capital, Maria Jose, 50, said the government “can’t lash out at those who are the least responsible for the crisis”.

The UGT had earlier said more than 70 percent of workers observed the stoppage.

The government did not give an overall participation figure.

But Corbacho said that among government departments, 7.5 percent of workers stayed home, in public companies 23.8 percent and 21 percent in the transport sector.

But he said participation was “very variable” with almost 100 percent observing the strike in the automaking sector and just 3.0 pecent in hotels and catering.

The unions struck a deal last week with the government to ensure minimum services for the day. It provided for a minimum of 20-40 percent of international flights and 10 percent within the Spanish peninsula.

It allowed 20 percent of high speed trains and 25 percent of district trains. But no regional or long-distance trains were guaranteed.

Corbacho said minimum services were operating at “98 percent”.

Spain slumped into recession in late 2008 as the global meltdown accelerated the collapse of its once-booming property sector. It only emerged in the first quarter of this year with tepid growth of 0.1 percent.

IMF Mandated 15% Service Tax to be Met By Organized Civil Disobedience

[It is really hitting the fan in the homeland of our most loyal ally.  Pakistan's leaders allowed American leaders to create the current conditions, but it is the Pakistani people who are being forced to pay the price for the crimes of the leaders.]

Civil disobedience if new taxes levied: Imran

PTI Chairman Khan held a press conference on Wednesday. – Photo by AP (File)

LAHORE: The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaaf (PTI) has decided to protest levy of new taxes and plans a civil disobedience movement if the government goes ahead with the taxation plan.

“In the first phase, we’ll protest the government’s bid to introduce new taxes and convert this protest drive into a civil disobedience movement if the rulers do not defer their plans,” PTI Chairman Imran Khan told a press conference on Wednesday.

He demanded that before burdening the masses through new taxation, the government must make public the assets of the ruling classes and the amount of taxes they paid.

He said power consumers were also being made to pay more as even the public sector institutions were steeling power.

He said according to a Pepco report, against 2.8 million sold air-conditioners, owners of only 185,000 air-conditioners were paying bill.

He said Pepco unearthed 400,000 illegal connections, but no action was taken.

He said the judiciary would lose its credibility if it failed to hold accountable the beneficiaries of now defunct National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO).

The PTI chief said Pakistan was the only country whose leadership’s assets were stashed in foreign banks.

He said mid-term polls were the only option to avert the crisis, adding that his suggestion was a democratic one.

He said the mid-term polls should have been held the day the NRO was declared null and void.

About the immunity the head of state enjoys, he said going by the logic of the PPP meant that all criminals should join a race to occupy the presidency so that all their crimes were pardoned.

About joining the alliance Pir Saheb Pagaro is busy forging these days, he said he would consider the option only if the PML-Functional chief put forth an alliance capable of bringing about a change in the country.

He said forces of status quo would continue to dominate the national scene until a change in the system. He, however, was optimistic that the recent flooding would wash away with it the incumbent system too.

“Early this morning, a coalition force observed what they believed was a group of insurgents attempting to fire mortars,”

[They are not even claiming that they were in "hot pursuit" with this latest aggression.  If Pakistan's generals will not defend the country, then it will be left to ordinary citizens to band together to defend themselves.]

Nato investigating Pakistan cross-border attack

“The team reported they did not cross into Pakistan airspace and believed the insurgent location was on the Afghan side of the border.” After being informed by Pakistan military officials that their border forces had been hit, ISAF said it was working with the Pakistanis “to ascertain if the two events are linked”. – Photo by AP.

KABUL: Nato said Thursday it was investigating claims by Pakistani security officials that three of their soldiers were killed in a cross-border attack by coalition helicopters based in Afghanistan.

“Early this morning, a coalition force observed what they believed was a group of insurgents attempting to fire mortars at a coalition base in the border area of Dand Patan district, Paktiya province,” Nato’s International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said in statement to AFP.

“A coalition air weapons team was called for fire support and engaged the insurgents,” it said.

“The team reported they did not cross into Pakistan airspace and believed the insurgent location was on the Afghan side of the border.” After being informed by Pakistan military officials that their border forces had been hit, ISAF said it was working with the Pakistanis “to ascertain if the two events are linked”.

“The matter remains under investigation,” it said.

Pakistani security officials said the incident took place in Mandati Kandaw village northwest of Parachinar, the main town of Kurram district close to the Afghan border in Pakistan’s semi-autonomous tribal belt. – AFP

Kayani stonewalling Washington’s call for decisive action against terrorists in NWA: Obama aides

Kayani stonewalling Washington’s call for decisive action against terrorists in NWA: Obama aides

WASHINGON, Sep 29 (Online): Pakistan’s powerful army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, long considered a close ally by America, is now thought by President Barack Obama’s aides to be stonewalling Washington’s call for decisive action against terrorists’ safe havens in the country’s turbulent tribal belt.

Top Obama administration officials say that Kayani has refused to adhere to any of the four demands of the US conveyed to him during a trip made by top aides in May this year just after a failed bomb plot at Times Square in New York by Pakistani-American Faisal Shahzad.

The apparent American misgivings on Kayani, considered to be the power centre in Pakistan, has grown so much that Bruce Riedel, a top former CIA official and one of the architects of America’s AF-Pak policy told Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of US Staff Admiral Mike Mullen recently not to trust him (Kayani).

However, Mullen went ahead to build a person-to-person relationship and had faith in the commitment shown by the Pakistan army chief, said a new book ’Obama’s war’ by Bob Woodward, noted investigative journalist.

At a White House meeting on March 11, attended by National Security Advisor General (rtd.) James Jones, Defence Secretary Robert Gates and Mullen, Riedel urged Mullen not to trust Kayani. “I have known every head of ISI since the mid-1980s,”Riedel is quoted as saying.

“Kayani is either not in control of his organisation or he is not telling the truth. The US should see the obvious and connect the dots. The Pakistanis are lying,” he said. Addressing Mullen, he said, “you have met Kayani some dozen times, you know him better than anyone else. The book also draws on crucial visits undertaken by CIA chief Leon Panetta and Jones to Islamabad to convey Obama’s warning that US would have no other option but to respond if Pakistan did not take decisive action against terrorists and their safe havens. The book says that after meeting Zardari, Panetta and Jones met Kayani to tell the Pakistani army chief that the clock was now starting on all the four requests made by Obama. But Kayani would not budge very much.

He had other concerns. “I’ll be the first to admit, I’m India centric,” he said, according to the book. Woodward wrote that Jones and Panetta left feeling they had made only baby steps. “How can you fight a war and safe havens across the border? Panetta asked in frustration. The latest intelligence showed trucks crossing the border that were full of Taliban combatants with all kinds of weapons packed in the back. They were being waved through into Afghanistan to kill Americans at checkpoints controlled by the Pakistanis. It’s a crazy kind of war,” Panetta said. The book says that Riedel bluntly told the President and his team that they should not rely on Admiral Mullen’s conversations with General Kayani. “As at best, it would be half the story,” Woodward said.

Americans should concentrate on clean-shaved Pakistani Generals

Comment on: “‘We need to make clear . . . the cancer is in Pakistan’ -By Bob Woodward”

Fazal ur Rehman Afridi

Americans know, who is the de facto government and who is supporting these bloody Talibans, fighting and killing Americans and NATO forces in Afghanistan.
Civilian government has nothing to do with foreign affairs and Security policy of Pakistan.
So, Americans should not be hypocritical. Pakistani Military Establishment is responsible for all this mess. If Americans are interested in clearing this mess, they should talk to Military rather than embarrassing the poor civilian government and politicians who are just like puppets in the hand of Pakistan Army.
Before going after the bearded-Taliban, Americans should concentrate on clean-shaved Pakistani Generals, who are the real Taliban and God-fathers of the bearded-Talibans.

Another Day, Another NATO Invasion of Pakistani Territory–Continuing Aggression

Nato shelling kills 3; hurts 3 FC men

Updated at: 0800 PST,  Thursday, September 30, 2010 PESHAWAR: Nato choppers have yet another time encroached Pakistani airspace by launching fresh shelling in Kurrum Agency, Thursday morning, Geo News reported. According to preliminary reports, at least three FC men lost their lives and as many sustained injuries in Nato-backed air strikes. FC officials confirmed that Nato helicopters launched bombing in Mand-To-Kandao area, located in Kurrum district on Pak-Afghan border, resulting in killing three security men and injuring as many. Witnesses told mediamen that choppers flew back to Afghanistan after air raids. It may be mentioned; Nato and ISAF copters killed nearly 6 civilians and over 11 were injured in an air strike occurred in Matah Sangarh area last week. Government protested with Nato against encroaching Pakistani airspace following the killing of 30 civilians. “It was an unprovoked attack that took place early Thursday morning. NATO helicopters entered our airspace and targeted a paramilitary checkpost killing three soldiers and wounding three others,” a senior security official told media. There was no immediate comment from NATO’s International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan, where more than 152,000 US and NATO troops are fighting a nine-year Taliban insurgency. Pakistani security officials said the incident took place in Mandati Kandaw village northwest of Parachinar, the main town of Kurram district close to Afghan border in Pakistan’s semi-autonomous tribal belt. “NATO helicopters intruded up to five kilometres (three miles) into Pakistan’s airspace,” the Pakistani security official said. Another Pakistani security official confirmed the attack and said security forces had taken “suitable measures to respond to such acts of aggression, which will be known to people very soon.” This is the fourth such attack in a few days. Pakistan on Monday denounced cross-border air strikes by NATO helicopters pursuing militants as a violation of its sovereignty after ISAF said it killed more than 30 rebels on Friday. The Pentagon said Tuesday the recent cross-border strikes were marked by “communication breakdowns,” as allied officers were not able to contact their Pakistani counterparts about the operation until afterwards. Procedures call for ISAF forces to contact Pakistani officers if coalition troops must cross the border, either before or during an operation. ISAF said that the helicopters went after insurgents in Pakistan on Friday after an Afghan security forces’ outpost in Khost province came under attack. ISAF said two helicopters returned to the border area on Saturday and killed several more. Pakistani security officials then said that five people were killed and two wounded by NATO cross-border fire from Afghanistan that hit Matta Sanga town close to the border early Monday.

Pakistan Stops NATO Supplies Entering Afghanistan

Pakistan on Thursday blocked NATO supply convoys from entering Afghanistan after officials blamed cross-border NATO fire for 3 Pakistani soldiers’ deaths, officials said.

“We have suspended NATO supply trucks for the time being due to security reasons,” an official in Pakistan’s Frontier Corps paramilitary unit told AFP in the northwestern city of Peshawar on condition of anonymity.

Two officials at the Torkham border crossing in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber district and a US diplomat confirmed that NATO convoys were not being allowed to cross Thursday.

Khyber is on the main NATO supply route through Pakistan into Afghanistan, where more than 152,000 US and NATO forces are fighting a Taliban insurgency.

The suspension came shortly after Pakistani security officials accused NATO forces based in Afghanistan of killing three Pakistani soldiers in the fourth cross-border attack this week.

Pakistan has condemned cross-border air strikes by NATO helicopters pursuing militants into its territory. NATO said Thursday it was investigating Thursday’s incident, but has said previously it has the right to self-defense.(AFP)

By Helping America, Pakistan Kills Itself

[Het Parool, The Netherlands]

The Nation, Pakistan

“Given the growing murder of Pakistanis by U.S. and NATO forces, don’t Pakistan citizens have a right to ask what our military is doing? … If a citizen is guilty of militancy he should be punished according to the law – not simply be made a sitting duck for foreign forces.”

Pakistan – The Nation – Original Article (English)

As so many have said, if the Pakistani state doesn’t delink from America’s misguided “War on Terror”, the Americans would eventually shift the center of gravity of its war from Afghanistan and move militarily into Pakistan. But now, that is precisely what’s happening. For quite sometime, the U.S. has been carrying out drone attacks and killing thousands of innocent Pakistani citizens – perhaps in the process, killing a few militants as well.

Meanwhile, as revelations and warnings in the Pakistani media have been making for some time, covert U.S. operatives and Special Forces have spread across Pakistan. Now the United States has begun the next phase of its agenda targeting Pakistan: attacks by aerial gunships across the Afghan border into Pakistan. On Friday, NATO admitted that two helicopter gunships entered Pakistan killing 30 people – euphemistically called “suspected militants” – just as Dr. Aafia Siddiqui has been penalized for being a “suspected terrorist”!

Since the government of Pakistan has, to its eternal shame, kept silent on this new military targeting of Pakistani citizens, NATO has become emboldened and on Monday two more helicopter gunships entered Pakistani territory and killed a few more citizens – so far the tally is five killed in Kurram Agency. And alongside this upping of the military ante, U.S. drone attacks continue – and with their frequency rising quickly, especially since Obama came to power. Almost every day, there are reports of 10 or more people killed by these unmanned drones – as if Pakistani lives are worth nothing. As far as Pakistan’s rulers are concerned, perhaps the U.S. is right about this, since President Zardari is said to have told the CIA chief that collateral damage from drones isn’t an issue that bothers him!

Posted by WORLDMEETS.US

Given the growing murder of Pakistanis by U.S. and NATO forces, don’t Pakistan citizens have a right to ask what our military is doing? After all, our defense forces are meant to protect our borders and Pakistani citizens from external military threats. Yet not only are they unable or unwilling to do so in the case of NATO helicopter gunships, they are actually complicit in U.S. drone attacks – if the statements of U.S. government officials are to be believed.

This is truly contemptible and brings into question the purpose of the military and the defense budget. If the Pakistan military aids in the killing of citizens – no matter how misguided or militant some may be – then who can Pakistanis seek for security and protection? After all, if a citizen is guilty of militancy he should be punished according to the law – not simply be made a sitting duck for foreign forces. It’s time the Pakistani nation demands of its state that it provide protection and not be a party to such murder.

UN Fact-Finding Mission Says Israelis “Executed” US Citizen Furkan Dogan

Monday 27 September 2010

by: Gareth Porter, t r u t h o u t | Report

Furkan Dogan, a 19-year-old US citizen of Turkish descent, was aboard the Mavi Marmara when he was killed by Israeli commandos. (Photo: freegazaorg; Edited:Jared Rodriguez / t r u t h o u t)

The report of the fact-finding mission of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on the Israeli attack on the Gaza flotilla released last week shows conclusively, for the first time, that US citizen Furkan Dogan and five Turkish citizens were murdered execution-style by Israeli commandos.

The report reveals that Dogan, the 19-year-old US citizen of Turkish descent, was filming with a small video camera on the top deck of the Mavi Marmara when he was shot twice in the head, once in the back and in the left leg and foot and that he was shot in the face at point blank range while lying on the ground.

The report says Dogan had apparently been “lying on the deck in a conscious or semi-conscious, state for some time” before being shot in his face.

The forensic evidence that establishes that fact is “tattooing around the wound in his face,” indicating that the shot was “delivered at point blank range.”  The report describes the forensic evidence as showing that “the trajectory of the wound, from bottom to top, together with a vital abrasion to the left shoulder that could be consistent with the bullet exit point, is compatible with the shot being received while he was lying on the ground on his back.”

Based on both “forensic and firearm evidence,” the fact-finding panel concluded that Dogan’s killing and that of five Turkish citizens by the Israeli troops on the Mavi Marmari May 31 “can be characterized as extra-legal, arbitrary and summary executions.” (See Report [.pdf] Page 38, Section 170)

The report confirmed what the Obama administration already knew from the autopsy report on Dogan, but the administration has remained silent about the killing of Dogan, which could be an extremely difficult political problem for the administration in its relations with Israel.

The Turkish government gave the autopsy report on Dogan to the US Embassy in July and it was then passed on to the Department of Justice, according to a US government source who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the administration’s policy of silence on the matter. The source said the purpose of obtaining the report was to determine whether an investigation of the killing by the Justice Department (DOJ) was appropriate.

Asked by this writer whether the DOJ had received the autopsy report on Dogan, DOJ spokesperson Laura Sweeney refused to comment.

The administration has not volunteered any comment on the fact-finding mission report and was not asked to do so by any news organization.  In response to a query from Truthout, a State Department official, who could not speak on the record, read a statement that did not explicitly acknowledge  the report’s conclusion about the Israeli executions.

The statement said the fact-finding mission’s report’s “tone and conclusions are unbalanced.” It went on to state, “We urge that this report not be used for actions that could disrupt direct negotiations between Israel and Palestine that are now underway or actions that would make it not possible for Israel and Turkey to move beyond the recent strains in their traditional strong relationship.”

Although the report’s revelations and conclusions about the killing of Dogan and the five other victims were widely reported in the Turkish media last week, not a single story on the report has appeared in US news media.

The administration has made it clear through its inaction and its explicit public posture that it has no intention of pressing the issue of the murder of a US citizen in cold blood by Israeli commandos.

On June 13, two weeks after the Mavi Marmara attack, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs issued a statement saying that Israel “should be allowed to undertake an investigation into events that involve its national security” and that Israel’s military justice system “meets international standards and is capable of conducting a serious and credible investigation.”

Another passenger whom forensic evidence shows was killed execution-style, according to the OHCHR report, is Ibrahim Bilgen, a 60-year-old Turkish citizen. Bilgen is believed by forensics experts to have been shot initially from the helicopter above the Mavi Marmara and then shot in the side of the head while lying seriously wounded.

The fact-finding mission was given forensic evidence that, after the initial shot in chest from above, Bilgen was shot in the head with a “soft baton round at such close proximity that an entire bean bag and its wadding penetrated the skull and lodged in the chest from above,” the mission concluded.

“Soft baton rounds” are supposed to be fired for nonlethal purposes at a distance and aimed only at the stomach, but are lethal when fired at the head, especially from close range.

The forensic evidence cited by the fact-finding mission on the killing of Dogan and five other passengers came from both the autopsy reports and pathology reports done by forensic personnel in Turkey and from interviews with those who wrote the reports. Experts in forensic pathology and firearms assisted the mission in interpreting that forensic evidence.

The account, provided by the OHCHR of the events on board the Mavi Marmara on its way to help break the economic siege of Gaza May 31 of this year, refutes the version of events aggressively pushed by the Israeli military and supports the testimony of passengers on board.

The report suggests that, from the beginning, Israeli policy viewed the Gaza flotilla as an opportunity to use lethal force against pro-Hamas activists. It quotes testimony by Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak before the Israeli government’s Turkel Committee that specific orders were given by the Israeli government “to continue intelligence tracking of the flotilla organizers with an emphasis on the possibility that amongst the passengers in the flotilla there were terror elements who would attempt to harm Israeli forces.”

The idea that the passenger list would be seeded with terrorists determined to attack Israeli defense forces appears to have been a ploy to justify treating the operation as likely to require the use of military force against the passengers.

When details of the Israeli plan to forcibly take over the ships in the flotilla were published in the Israeli press on May 30, the passengers on board the Mavi Marmara realized that the Israelis might use deadly force against them. Some leaders of the IHH (the Foundation for Human Rights and Freedoms and Humanitarian Aid), which had purchased the ships for the mission, were advocating defending the boat against the Israeli boarding attempt, whereas other passengers advocated nonviolence only.

That led to efforts to create improvised weapons from railings and other equipment on the Mavi Marmara. However, the commission concluded that there was no evidence of any firearms having being taken aboard the ship, as charged by Israel.

The report notes that the Israeli military never communicated a request by radio to inspect the cargo on board any of the ships, apparently contradicting the official justification given by the Israeli government for the military attack on the Mavi Marmara and other ships of preventing any military contraband from reaching Gaza.

According to the OHCHR report, Israeli Chief of General Staff Gabi Ashkenazi testified to the Turkel Committee August 11 that the initial rules of engagement for the operation prohibited live fire except in life-threatening situations, but that that they were later modified to target protesters “deemed to be violent” in response to the resistance by passengers.

That decision apparently followed the passengers’ successful repulsion of an Israeli effort to board the ship from Zodiac boats.

The report confirms that, from the beginning of the operation, passengers were fired on by helicopters flying above the Mavi Marmara to drop commandos on the deck.

Contrary to Israeli claims that one or more Israeli troops were wounded by firearms, the report says no medical evidence of a gunshot wound to an Israeli soldier was found.

The OHCHR report confirms accounts from passengers on the Mavi Marmara that defenders subdued roughly ten Israeli commandos, took their weapons from them and threw them in the sea, except for one weapon hidden as evidence. The Israeli soldiers were briefly sequestered below and some were treated for wounds before being released by the defenders.

The OHCHR fact-finding mission will certainly be the most objective, thorough and in-depth inquiry into the events on board the Mavi Marmara and other ships in the flotilla of the four that have been announced.

The fact-finding mission was chaired by Judge Karl T. Hudson-Phillips, Q.C., retired judge of the International Criminal Court and former attorney general of Trinidad and Tobago, and included Sir Desmond de Silva, Q.C. of the United Kingdom, former chief prosecutor of the United Nations-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone and Ms. Mary Shanthi Dairiam of Malaysia, founding member of the board of directors of the International Women’s Rights Action Watch Asia Pacific.

The mission interviewed 112 eyewitnesses to the Israeli attack in London, Geneva, Istanbul and Amman, Jordan. The Israeli government refused to cooperate with the fact-finding mission by making personnel involved in both planning and carrying out the attack available to be interviewed.

The Turkish governments announced its own investigation of the Israeli attack on August 10. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon announced the formation of a “Panel of Inquiry” on August 2, but its mandate was much more narrowly defined. It was given the mission to “receive and review the reports of the national investigations with the view to recommending ways of avoiding similar incidents in the future.”

This work by Truthout is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 United States License.